With recent events, my Facebook newsfeed has been absolutely crowded with political arguments. And none of them are good, solid, logical arguments. They’re all angry posts, insulting memes, and fallacious catchphrases. And it’s driving me absolutely insane. So here’s a few reasons why you should leave politics off Facebook.
1. You are losing friends.
Maybe you don’t care about how many friends you have on Facebook. Maybe it doesn’t bother you that people want to unfriend you. Maybe you would rather people that have differing political views delete you off Facebook either way. (If you do, then you’re definitely a major posting offender and you clearly need to be reading this article.) But if you’re constantly posting about politics, especially if you’re posting rude memes, then I promise you, you are being unfriended. Your posts are annoying people so they’re removing them from their newsfeed. And I don’t blame them.
2. You look like a jerk.
Regardless of who you’re friends with, someone will disagree with your post. And I understand that your goal isn’t to make everyone happy. That shouldn’t be your goal. But the majority of political Facebook posts are mean-spirited, emotionally charged, and fallacious. That’s not because Facebook users don’t know how to argue; they just give up arguing and post trending pictures and links. And many of these trending pictures and links were made by people who only know how to fake an argument not defend one.
And the fact is that there are plenty of ways to rationally, logically, and calmly argue your point of view. You can talk about gay marriage, gun control, and abortion without getting overly emotional or insulting the other side. In fact, it makes your argument stronger if you don’t get overly emotional or insult those that disagree with you because the second you get angry, the other person wants to discredit you. So you’re posting all these mean pictures and links and it makes you look like a butt-hole and weakens your argument.
3. You’re weakening your argument.
Clearly, you’re posting because you believe strongly in this. And by posting, you’re probably weakening your argument, or at least making people not want to listen to it. If you don’t understand why, reread the last paragraph.
4. Memes don’t persuade people.
Or at least they shouldn’t. Typically, memes make people feel better about themselves if they agree with them, and if they don’t, then, they make them angry. So liberals, you’re not convincing anyone by posting pictures, links, and retweets that call conservatives small-minded and bigoted. And conservatives, you’re not converting any liberals by posting stuff that calls Hilary a stupid liar. In fact, you’re both just pissing a bunch of people off. So if you want to change people’s minds, articulate your point of view and why you disagree with the other side. Don’t let a meme argue for you. You’re (probably) smarter than that.
5. Facebook was not made for politics.
Facebook was made for friends. If you want to keep your friends, you should stop posting about politics. If you want politics, go follow Donald Trump on Twitter, especially since all of his tweets are just as ignorant and mean-spirited as most of the stuff you see on Facebook.
6. You only get dumbed-down versions of arguments.
You’re not getting the real argument with a meme or quick one-liner. I get it! You support gun control. But you posted a “Simpsons” meme to express that. That meme does nothing to make me want to support gun control. And if this “Simpsons” meme is the real reason that you support gun control, then you need to rethink your politics. Maybe you should think about why you really do or don’t support gun control (or any and all other major political issue) and express that when asked. Don’t express it unasked on social media. But make sure you have real reasons to support your political standing beyond the posts you see on Facebook and the ones you put up yourself.
So for the love of all that is good in this world, stop posting about politics on Facebook. I don’t care whether or not you support gun control, gay marriage, or abortion. I don’t care what the “Simpsons” says about gun control, gay marriage, or abortion. And whatever meme or stolen one-liner you post about gun control, gay marriage, or abortion is neither going to change my opinion or make me care about yours. So rather than wasting your time looking like an ignorant, unyielding, wannabe politician, actually think about your political standing and why it’s the one you believe is right. Be ready to articulate that to me or anyone else when asked.But don’t do it on social media. You’re not changing anyone’s mind by clicking “post.”
